"BOYS OF SUMMERVILLE" - A LOCAL HIT!

Like I said in the previous post, Muse Watson was in town this week to support and promote the work being done to make the Princess Theater a center piece for a regional arts education and entertainment and communications center. The fulfillment of this dream by Gary Baker, Muse Watson, Chris Mason, and many local leaders and educators will also revitalize Downtown Harriman, Roane, and surrounding counties.

Several film clips promoting this dream were shot in front of the Princess Theater Friday afternoon, necessitating shutting down west bound traffic on Roane Street for several minutes. The people driving slowly by were treated to glimpses of Muse and Bill Landry standing in the middle of the street talking loudly to Doug Mills’ camera! Doug is famous in his own right, having filmed most of “The Heartland” episodes with Bill.

You’ll be able to see the spots soon, but from what I overheard; Muse and Bill were both very excited about the future of the Princess and the local area. When people with this kind of clout and determination get involved in a project it usually happens! All that remains is gaining the support of the local population – you! You can help by attending events produced by Princess Productions and by letting your local, state, and federal law makers know you believe in and support the Princess project.

Later Friday evening more promos were shot on the Roane Theater stage before the crowd was allowed into the auditorium at 7. Roane County Executive Mike Farmer and Harriman Mayor Chris Mason joined Muse and Bill on stage. Mike Farmer said he may be from Kingston, but the success of the Princess project, and the revitalization of Downtown Harriman, will be good from the entire county. He and Chris urged everyone, every citizen, to get involved now!

As Muse often says, “WE…can do this!”

Chris Mason added, “I want to ‘one up’ Muse and say WE WILL do this!” He further added, “You can support Harriman and Roane County by attending all the events each city puts on, like 'Cruisin’ in Harriman', 'Hooray for Harriman', the 'Farmers Market', now on Wednesdays and Saturdays at Riverfront Park, and other such activities.”

Prior to the main event, the audience saw the trailer for the upcoming “Appalachian Dreams” DVD, which Brooks had just finished an hour before arriving. This DVD will soon be available, and I will let you know HERE when and where you can obtain a copy. If you attended the show, you’ll one a copy to show friends and family what they missed. If you didn’t attend…it’s obvious that you need a personal copy too! Muse, who was unable to attend, was amazed at the talent that was assembled on the stage at Roane State for that show.

Finally, Muse introduced Brooks Benjamin to the audience. Brooks explained the reason behind the movie he had just finished editing, the version shown was finished just a couple of hours before the showing. The crowd was treated to a viewing, at the cost of a mere $5, of the latest “cut”. “No one else has ever seen this version,” he explained.

During the movie there were many moments of laughter, and at the conclusion, there was a rousing hand of applause, and again after the hilarious outtakes!

After the movie, Muse Watson opened up a Q & A Session, and questions flowed from the audience, and each attending member (Casey Payne, Allison Varnes (pictured at right), Linds Edwards, and Joe Wright that arranged the music) of the film took turns answering their questions.

After the event, several people, including Muse and Brooks, celebrated with a late supper at Los Premios in Harriman. To me, that was the best part of the evening…great fellowship!